If I've Said it Once

I've said it a million times. Running is important to me and not even the possibility of having a tire mark over the center of my face is going to stop me from lacing up my shoes and heading out the door in the morning. Even if it is really foggy. And it gets so dense in these parts that they actually delay school sometimes until the bus drivers can see more than a foot in front of their face. One could say that orange is a very important color in my life.

I found this little tidbit while I was searching for an article about Ryan Hall to share with you folks. I can't say that the message in the first article is entirely why I run but I can tell you that I sometimes wish others would not question "the risks" of running when the dangers of not running are more likely to happen.

The last sentences in the second article brought tears to my eyes and even if you don't do the God thing there is a message there. I absolutely can't wait to see this young man run on Sunday the 24th.

***From the Ryan Hall article in case you don't take the time to click on over to Runner's World:

"I want you to know," says Madeline, faltering. "I want you to know that this family prays, and prays for many things. That it will be a good race, that it will be a safe race, but they never, they never," She stops now, holding her hand to her mouth as her eyes fill with tears. It takes her a moment to gather before she can speak again.

"They never pray to win."

Fall Enrollment and Frustration

The prolific blooming of the black-eyed Susan's are a sure sign that the big yellow child movers will be once again speeding down the road while blurry-eyed children wait patiently for their turn to board. When we joined the "going off to school movement" after homeschooling it became apparent that there were three general attitudes about this time of the year:

1. It is a time of new things, potential growth and expectations for the year to come.

2. Thank goodness school is back in session because I can't stand my kids and want them out!

3. Disappointment that there is never enough time to experience life and once school starts there will be even less opportunity for this.

I've accepted that for now my school-aged children will attend a formal education program and do not intend to put an "I'd Rather Be Homeschooling" bumper sticker on my van. But after agonizing for five days over which extracurricular programs to put them in I am just spent on this whole school thing and it hasn't even started yet. Be aware that I do not push the additional programs, the kids beg for them almost as much as they beg for homemade biscuits. For us, the problem is twofold: the school they attend is seriously lacking in things like music, art, gym and any other school within logical driving distance is also; and we live 40 minutes from an area that offers decent after-school programs so we have to pick and choose very carefully.

I do remember way back when (not too long ago), we had an art teacher at our school, an actual bonafide teacher paid to teach us art in her own classroom that was filled with art supplies. We went there for 50 minutes twice a week and I don't know too many kids that didn't love that time. Where have all these classrooms and teachers gone? I may be a little soft and skewed in my opinion but if the only way today's kids have to express themselves is by shooting people in video games we have a dismal future ahead of us. We provide students breakfast and lunch on the almighty government dollar but we can't teach them how to nurture their feelings by making music, dancing, creating art or being physically active. Oh, but we do teach them how to write, we even have a standardized test that requires a handwriting sample. Please children, express yourselves and then we will judge it and tell you how poorly you write.

So last week I spent many hours comparing schedules, deciding how much I thought I could handle driving to the Flint Cultural Center and then committing my kids to experiencing the things that really interest them: bookmaking, elementary ballet, violin, beginning music makers, horse back riding, and ceramic & glass mosaics. It is going to be a fun fall, a full fall and a fantastic future for my kids, you know, the ones who really count.

Death by Blueberries

+

=

THIS

Which is utterly incredible and worth every labor intense minute.

Any ice cream that describes itself as "rich French-custard style" and is subtly flavored with lavender grown in your own garden and blueberries picked that day during the middle of a rainstorm is a treasure to be had.

Although I was supposed to wait for Mary and Meredith to make this amazing recipe I could not decline the eager Aunt Mary that stopped over after church and then drove home to get her never-been-used KitchenAid ice cream bowl attachment so we could create it together. Life is short so sometimes you have to live in the moment and tonight we did just that.

Don't worry, we didn't eat it all! Not yet anyway.

You Can Take A Girl Out of the City

But according to my husband you can't take the city out of the girl. I dare say he is wrong. When a girl starts to consider field corn as an ornamental grass in her flower beds I would say she has crossed the line into dirt-loving, manure scooping, egg collecting heaven and has left the city behind.

A Bit of Scary

You gotta love blogging for the ability to put photos with the post because this post would be far less without the accompanying photos:

It was one of those typical days where Vinnie had his breakfast of something hot and homemade (some people think I spoil him?!?!) along with his freshly percolated coffee and he headed outside to do "man's work" while I stayed inside barefoot but blessedly not pregnant to do my general household duties. Soon after he went outside to work on "the list" I heard some rumbling and moving of machinery around the yard. This isn't too out of the ordinary because we have a yard full of stuff that requires gas and spark to move, unfortunately it is never all in gas/spark mode at the same time so Vinnie frequently has uncontrollable urges to switch up some batteries and shift things around. This usually results in a more prominent view of a fine piece of museum artifact out our picture window.

When I finally looked up from my soap filled sink I saw our daughter's namesake pulled front and center with the doors and trunk open as if he had plans to actually attend to this beauty beyond starting her up and giving her a different lot assignment for a while.

Totally original, totally.

She has had finer days. I once slept in the backseat (alone) and recall many fun but unsafe miles in her when we first met. Her brakes were never a promising feature, Fred Flintstone's feet do a better job, so when the young ones began arriving we parked her. And no, sadly, none of the brood was conceived in her.

She has a beauty of a name.
Her full title is 1960 Dodge Dart Seneca

And she comes equipped with a slant-six engine. Now if any of you girls out there are trying to impress your man just bring up a question like this: Honey, I was reading about slant-sixes the other day (he doesn't need to know it was on a fruity blog) and I was wondering if you thought they were a better design than the now popular V-8 engines? For some reason guys can talk about slant-sixes for as long as they can talk about *breasts*.

Upon closer inspection there was still a bottle on her floorboard from earlier days or maybe just post-coffee that morning. All the nature surrounding the bottle is from the varmints that invade her innards when we aren't looking.

I didn't want to seem alarmed so I casually asked Vinnie later that night if he was getting her ready for Old Gas Tractor. He likes to get into places for free and if you take a vehicle this old and disgusting to OGT they let you in the secret back way so you can park in an area where all the toothless OGT attendees can gawk at her. I know this for a fact because we have done it before. I already had a plan to paint a few of my teeth black, stuff a pillow under my shirt, dress the kids in dirty clothes with a few odds and ends stuck in their hair when he told me that he just had to move her so he could put the new sand blasting thingy in her spot. But now that I mentioned it maybe he could get her fixed up in time...

New Girl in Town

Taking a break from pig announcements to introduce my new friend:

10 miles of ass kicking trail and this was my reward.

She will even hold a giant sized muffin.

And she fits in well with the rest of the girls.

Good food, good crowd, good run, and awesome t-shirts. Because it is all about the t-shirt.

Serious Business

I had no idea how brutal and intense showing livestock at the fair can be. I have learned more this week than I did in six years of college. I'll be back once I recover.